Manufacture of vinegar.



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To all whom it may concern: Be it known. that I, "a citizen of the United States, residin at El Paso, in the'cou'nty of E1 Paso'and tate 5' of Texas, have invented certain new}; and

nts' in the Manufacture of useful Improveme I 0 the following is 'a specifi V Vinegar, of which cation.

This invention relates to the manufacture of vinegar; and it comprises as a new dietary article a fullflavored, full-bodied table vinegar having a particular aromatic flavor; and: containing in addition" towater and acetic acid the characteristic'non-fer- 'mentable or non-saccharine soluble flavor giving substances of melon juice; and it"also comprises a method of preparing, suchfa vinegar wherein the-juice of melons, which is bestsubjected to a I tion't'o give body an added -flavorfis sub j'ec'ted to an acetifying' treatment as .by. ;extracting juice from melons, removing flock and fiber therefrom by a. clarifying -t1:eatment, fermenting an advantageously being so "'25 mewhat l. concenv. f trated :prior to the fermenting I and" acetifyin'g inorder to improve the co1or,*to give "a standard concentration and to developivcer tain changes in the aroma and. flavor; alias more "fully hereinafter .set forth, and as ;claimed.

In the manufacture of table and preserv-. 1

;ing tvinegars' fro liqnidsg the nature (if fthe articlejproduced. The acidis prod "ced i fromv the sugars present, but the other constituentszpresent play an impor not onlyinre ard 'mentation' an the propertiesofthe resultin quality of a vinegar" depen its flavor and preservingefiect and these-are the main factors 'inideteimining its value; otherwise the chemical composition offlall Vinegars is very much alike. They are all dilute solutions of acetic acid containing other soluble and volatile flavoring constituents. flavor dependpartly upon composition various saccharine of such a liquidplays an,

The aroma and b di whose is not certainly knownand which vary w th-the-particularmaterials used inmaking yia iegar. The $0111 i ble non-volatile constituents "play' ani 5t tant part since upon their nature. depends not only much of the flavor but the body JAMES 'BnNroN r cer reliminary 'conceiitrad acetifying, such-juice importantpart in the quality and properties tant part; I to-the course of the ferr ,3

acetificationxbut. ,also as 'toproduct. The

8 mai y 9 a.

aroma-giving dvarious .vela tilearmest-Es eem; Patented Febrfi; 1916.' Application illedneceniber 8,1913. s tin-116105378. I

of the vinegar. [Solutions of acetic acid merely containing volatile flavoring ingredientsl1ke"theacetic esters are too thin to be palatableand, in fact, are not Vinegars. It is. on its content of volatile flavor and aroma-giving bodies and soluble tastegiv'- mg; and taste-reinforcing constituents that thevalue of .a vinegar depends not only for table. purposes: but also for preserving.

-( w 1ng to a deficiency in this matter of taste- .givl'ng' and taste-reiniorcing bodies, vine- Y gars from many fruit juicesaretoo thin and do nothave the full-bodied taste that isadesirahle in a good qualityfofvinegar do they function as efliciently'in presefry ngas is desirable. Much of the -prese' 1ftive effect of a vinegar depends, W -"lb Meme-tic. ns u I a have found that on taking the juice of 1 vt,aterinelons-.,and converting it into vinegar I-obtain a desirable full-bodied, full-flavored j taste' that obtain-'a vinegar of a clean, 'pure', tart, taste which-is. arcmatic'an'd' is not I th n "and which has excellent preservative properties As to the exact nature o'ctT-the.

con titu ntsf the'melon juices which give "-nie these resultsflinthe-vinegar I am not cer-v ith noting the .tain and I content myself vv desirable results, obtained. ,1 .The jii1ce ofthe Watermelon, or the juice of; theihearthof the. Watermelon, is, ordi-h narily;go'fa' r eddishappearance but. this is due?tdsuspendedfiiock and tissue in the juice. a In the present process (it-is highly desirable that all}this-;suspended-.;inatter be prelimi eer y-re oved, wh h-may b 6 .1. y '3 defecation, -centrifugals,- etc. So

" a Waterwhite liquid.

' cent. of sugars I ontent of from Y ini the-statein -.{;-vvh1chobtained-after clarii 'ying, give a, vine- H gar! cf vgood quality butrather 'we'akacid' and ratherg whitezin color. Therefore avantag usly "con e'ntrat o' furt 'reatment- This concentration,

5 h h earcb f type ot fapj "aratus, such as a vacuunrpan;

multiple-e ct, -etc., is advantageously perfrm'ed at a low temperature. Evaporation 110 gives too much in o env vessels fre uently p q I find color anfd too" pronounced a taste that evaporating the juice somewhat at a; i

5 catfper cent. I termen'table matj I e the juice prior if 5 j ,efiected '111 any convemen slight change is ing to about 5 per cent.

v of evaporation of the resulting -is rath low temperature prior to making vinegar is very desirable and is an important factor in producing a perfect product. After the desired degree of concentrationis obtained, 1. may then temporarily increase the heat to comparatively a high temperature to heighten the color if -insuflicient color is given in the evaporation. The temperature and the time of evaporating dependupon the color and are to be obtained. Some produced by this heating operation in the soluble substance of the juice which materially improves the flavor product. The color-giving heating after evaporation also aids materially in this improvement and gives an aging eflect. It is generally desirable, apart from other reasons,

are quite variable in their saccharine and other content, to evaporate the liquid to a standard density. A density corresponding to a sugar content of about 8 per cent. is advantageous. An 8 per cent. sugar content will give a vinegar of an acidity correspondacetic acid, which best suited will acidity which is a standard strength.

The liquid may be abandoned to spon-' taneous fermentation, or may be set with yeast, etc. Spontaneousfermentation is not as good as setting with yeast, as it takes too long. Themelon juice, as a matter of fact, or ,poor in proteids and is not very favorable to bacterial yeast or other fermentation. A pasteurization prior to fermen-.

tation of the juice will insure its remaining sterile for long periodsof time, even if exposed to-athe 3,11. Probably some of the constituents are more or less antiseptic intheir nature and it is to their pr'esencein the juice, verylikely, that the high preserving value of the vinegar is due. The juice may however be quickly and readily fer- -mented by the addition of small amounts 1 givlng yeast used,

of yeast. This yeast may. come '-from" a previous setting or may be fresh yeast from another source.

freshen the yeast,

by treatment where the same yeast is with nutrient solutions, such juice. The. use of special races of aromaorganisms isnotordinarily advantageous since it tends to disturb the particular and desirable flavor of the vinegar obtained in the present method. After a period of fermentation which mayjlast from one to two days, passed over acetifying shavings in the presenceof ainf the liquid may be orgamsmsxon I find owever that a special method of acetifying is particularly advantageous With this material. The acetlfy ng organismmay be obsuitable source; Tn acetitained from any fying I may cause the juiceto flow progressively through a series of vessels, all injuice and vinegar takes up since melon juices v It is often desirable to as wort, prior to using it injthemelon beech oculated with the organism, and each vessel being provided with means for aerating the liquid therein. There may be three or mpre of these vessels deriving air from a common source. This ,air in passing through the more or less of the special volatile parts which give this vinegar much 'of its value and alsotends to take up more or less alcohol and alde-' hyde, acid, etc. For'this reason I advantageously turn the air which has gone through the acetifying liquid back into and through the fresh or. concentrated melon juice which is subsequently to be acetified in order to recover volatile matter carried forward by such air. The juice may be advantageously a current of liquid flowing forwardto the acetifying apparatus. The air may be sent through a cooler or refrigerator prior to reentering the juice.

The vinegar thus obtained is ready for bottling and preservation without further treatment. Pasteurization, etc., are not nec-' essary. It shows great keeping PI'OPGIUSS, being .practically free from albumenoidsand other constituents on which microorganisms can thrive. This v1negar containsacetic and and it also contains most of the natural soluble 9 5 substancesother than sugar which has been converted into acid, of th original uice, such soluble substances being however. in

' the case of concentrated material, somewhat modifiedby the concentrat ng operation described. Some portion of the solubles are 'changed inthe fermentation and acidification toigive volatile aroma-yielding-constitucuts of a particularly delicate and palatable flavor. It is a vinegar of a mellow fullbodied character and has the characteristics of an aged vinegar. It isnot necessary to store it for aging in oak' 'casks and the like, as is customary with other vinegars. e aging efiect is given in the evapora -tion, or evaporatini and heating, treatment described. It mayiowever be further aged if desired, but itis not ordinarily necessary or desirable. ,While-I have moreparticularly'=hereinbe fore described, the t eatment jof' watermelons, 'si-n'ce' tliey'are the most advantageous and indeed the only melonswhichwill give me the v particular-flavor and quality of it will beunderstood that my. process may also be: applied to ether melons, suchfas canta'loupes, muskmelons, etc: These other melons however .give vinegar of 'difl'erent flavor and quality.

ile, aszstated, any convenient method of extracting the juice of the melon may be employed, prefer to operate in a rather methodical manner. As it comes from the vinegar desired in=thepresent invention, yet

field. the interior of the melon is absolutely 18c of water, then taken by a conveyer and exposed to steam or hot Water in transit. The melons may then be pressed in any suitable device. A' screw press is convenient.

.The fiber and seeds may be used for feed being separated or not as may be purposes, desired. Where the rind is desired for special purposes, it may be separated from the heart of the melon prior to the pressing operation. The pressed juice may then advantageously be clarified in a centrifugal or by other suitable means. The clarified juice may then be heated and otherwise treated as hereinbefore described.

What I claim is l. In the manufacture of table vinegar, the process which comprises fermenting and acetifying melon juice and aging to produce table vinegar.

2. The process of producing a vinegar which comprises concentrating, fermenting and acetifying melon juice.

3. The process of producing a vinegar which comprises concentrating melon juice until a desired color develops, and then fermenting and acetifying the concentrated u ce.

4. The process of producing a vinegar which comprises clarifying melon juice, heating the clarified juice till a'brown color develops, and then fermenting and acetifying such juice.

5. The process of producing a vinegar which comprises clarifying melon juice, subjecting the juice to a heating operation comprising an evaporation at a low temperature and a subsequent short heating to a higher temperature, and then fermenting and acetifying the treated juice.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a

table and preserving vinegar comprising Water, acetic acid, volatile aroma-giving constituents and the characteristic soluble nonsaccharine flavor-giving solids of melon juices, such non-saccharine solids having substantially the constitution of those present in natural melon juice.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES BENTON PAGE. 

